Millstone Whisky
The great dream of whisky enthusiast and master distiller Patrick van Zuidam was always to create his own whisky. The result: the first Dutch whisky: Millstone
Fine Dutch Whisky
Our Millstone Whiskies
Whiskey, like a beautiful woman, demands appreciation. You gaze first, then it’s time to drink.
- Haruki Murakami
The Beginning
In 1976, Master Distiller Fred van Zuidam and his wife Hélène van Zuidam started professionally pursuing their passion: making liqueurs and genevers. This has been happening since then under the name Zuidam Distillers.
The sons of Fred and Hélène are now standing; Patrick (General Manager) and Gilbert (Sales Director) at the helm. The family business is located in the border town of Baarle-Nassau, near the border between the Netherlands and Belgium.
The big dream of whisky lover Patrick van Zuidam was always to make his own whisky. The family has worked long and hard to realize this dream. In 1996, the first experimental barrels of whisky were produced. Since then, various improvements have been made until perfection was achieved and Zuidam Distillers was able to launch its first Dutch whisky: Millstone. The name Millstone refers to the Dutch mills that grind the grain used for whisky.
Various carefully selected barrels are used for the Millstone whisky Expressions, which give specific flavours to the whiskies.
Quality
Zuidam only supplies top quality. To guarantee the best results, a lot of time is taken for the production process. For example, Zuidam uses a longer fermentation time (seven days) than average for the mashing process.
This gives the whisky its fruity and complex character. The slow distillation in the small copper stills also contributes to the fruity character of the Millstone whisky. Maturation is very important in the last step of the production process. Much of the whisky's character is created during maturation in oak barrels.
Various carefully selected barrels are used to give different characters to the whiskies. Due to the warm and dry climate in the lower house, an average of 4 to 6% whisky per year evaporates from the barrels. That is almost 125 liters per day. This evaporation ensures a relatively high Angel Share.
